Wiley SolidWorks 2011 Parts Bible
Contents
1. Drafting standard Macros macro features Custom property file sheet metal bend line note file Sheet metal gauge table If you have taken time to set up a computer and then need to reinstall SolidWorks move to another computer or duplicate the setup for another user you need to copy out the files you have used or customized By default all these files are located in different folders within the SolidWorks installa tion directory Chapter 2 deals with interface settings and creating a registry settings file to copy to other computers or use as a backup 11 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics Best Practice It is especially important to have copies of these files in a location other than the default installation folder when you are doing complex implementations that include templates of various types of tables or customized symbol files Uninstalling SolidWorks or installing a new version will wipe out all your hard work Choose Tools gt Options File Location to save these files in separate library folders on the local hard drive or on a network location m Tip Using templates I have included some of my part and assembly templates on this book s DVD for you Copy these files to the folder specified at Tools Options File Locations Document Templates When you begin to create a new document and the New SolidWorks Document dialog box gives you the option to select one of several files to start from those files a2. s new With every release SolidWorks publishes a What s New document to help you keep up to speed with the changes This is typically a PDF file with accompanying example files If you have missed a version or two reading through the What s New files can help get you back on track You can find every What s New document on Ricky Jordan s blog at http rickyjordan com Again don t expect many details or interface screen shots it introduces you to the basic changes Moving from 2D to 3D The Help menu contains a selection called Moving from 2D to 3D It is intended to help transitioning users acclimate to their new surroundings Terminology is a big part of the equation when making this switch and figures prominently in the Moving from 2D to 3D help file Likely the most helpful sections in Moving from 2D to 3D are Approach to Modeling and Imported AutoCAD Data The information in these categories is useful whether you are coming to SolidWorks from AutoCAD or from another CAD package Exploring SolidWorks Help SolidWorks Help formerly The Online User s Guide is the new Help file There are two formats the traditional Help format and a Web based help file You can use Search capabilities to find what you are looking for The SolidWorks Help has tutorials and a separate API application programming interface help file Frankly it lacks detail and often skips over important facts such as what you might use a certain function f
3. Choose File New from the menu Select any part template Choose Tools Options gt Document Properties Drafting Standard Make sure the ANSI standard is selected Click the Units page ce kee oe Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks A N 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Change the unit system to IPS inches with three decimal places using millimeters as the dual units with two decimal places Set angular units to Degrees with one decimal place Change to the Grid Snap page Turn off Display grid Change to the Image Quality page Move two thirds of the way to the right so it is closer to High Make sure the Save tes sellation with part document option is selected Click OK to save the settings and exit the Tools gt Options dialog box Click the right mouse button RMB on the Materials entry in the FeatureManager and select 1060 Alloy from the list If it is not there click Edit Material and find it from the larger list Choose File gt Properties and click the Custom tab Add a property called Material of type Text In the Value Text Expression column click the down arrow and select Material from the list Notice that the Evaluated Value shows 1060 Alloy Add another property called description and give it a default value of Description At this point the window should look like Figure 1 27 FIGURE 27 O Setting up Custom Properti
4. a b A 0 feu Front lt A Moder Animan TS Click firstu 0 89in OAMin Oin UnderDefined _ Editing Sketchi Locked Focus 8 Z Activate the Centerline tool by choosing Tools Sketch Entities Centerline Click and hold the left mouse button first at the Origin then at the midpoint of the far end of the rect angle release the mouse button as shown in Figure 1 31 When the cursor gets close to the midpoint of the end of the rectangle it snaps into place Press Esc to turn off the Centerline tool Select the centerline and Ctrl select the line with which it shares the midpoint rela tion After making the second selection do not move the cursor and you will see a set of options in a popup context toolbar Click the Make Perpendicular icon as shown in Figure 1 32 and the rectangle becomes symmetric about the centerline Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Creating a midpoint relation between a centerline and a line Making the rectangle symmetric about the centerline 13 Drag one of the corners of the rectangle from inside the circle and drop it on the cir cumference of the circle itself The point here is that you want the corner of the circle to be right on the circle always A coincident relation is created by the drag and drop action Now when you move either the circle or the rectangle the other may change in size Try dragging the circle itself a corner point of the re
5. and read write permissions for administra tors Then point each user s File Locations and Default templates to that location Access problems due to multiple users accessing the same files do not arise in this situation because users copy tem plates to create new documents and do not use them directly Caution One of the downfalls of this arrangement is that if the network goes down users no longer have access to their templates This can be averted by also putting copies of the templates on the local computers however it has the tendency to undermine the goal of consistent documentation Users may tend to use and customize the local tem plates rather than use the standardized network copies CAD administration and organizing any group of people on some level always comes down to trusting employees to do the right thing There is no way to completely secure any system against all people trying to work around the system so you must rely on hiring people you can train and trust m Understanding Feature Based Modeling You need to be familiar with some terminology before diving into building models with SolidWorks Notice that I talk about modeling rather than drawing or even design This is because SolidWorks is virtual prototyping software Whether you are building an assembly line for automo tive parts or designing decorative perfume bottles SolidWorks can help you visualize your geometri cal production data in the most
6. conflicting but satisfied and the Horizontal will be red because it is conflicting and not satisfied e Yellow Overdefined Conflicts Solving the sketch relations would result in a zero length entity for example this can occur where an arc is tangent to a line and the center point of the arc is also coincident to the line 23 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics e Brown Dangling The relation has lost track of the entity to which it was connected e Pink The pink sketch status is no longer used There can be entities with different states within a single sketch In addition endpoints of lines can have a different state than the rest of the sketched entity For example a line that is sketched horizon tally from the origin has a coincident at one endpoint to the origin and the line itself is horizontal As a result the line and first endpoint are black but the other endpoint is underdefined because the length of the line is not defined Sketch states are indicated in the lower right corner of the graphics window and in the status bar You can see that dragging one corner allows only the lines to move in certain ways as shown in Figure 1 23 Sketch motion is becoming more constrained 2 R Le e In addition to sketch relations dimensions applied using the Smart Dimension tool are also part of the parametric scheme If you apply an angle dimension by clicking the two angled lines with the Smart Dimension t
7. named Front Top and Side or XY XZ and ZY or Plane1 Plane2 and Plane3 or North Plan and East or Elevation Plan and Side for different uses Locating templates You can set the location of the templates folder at Tools Options File Locations Document Templates The folder location may be a local folder or a shared network folder Multiple folders may be specified in the list box each corresponding to a tab in the New Document s Advanced interface After all the Document Properties custom properties and other settings are set to your liking and you are ready to save the file as a template choose File Save As and select Part Templates in Files of Type SolidWorks prompts you to save the template in the first folder listed in the File Locations list You can create assembly templates the same way except you change the settings for an assembly document You can also create additional tabs on the New SolidWorks Document dialog box by making subfold ers in the main folder in the File Locations area For example if your File Locations list for Document Templates looks like Figure 1 10 your New SolidWorks Document dialog box will look like Figure 1 11 EO The Tools Options File Locations list Folders Show folders For Document Templates x D librarytCustom Templates D Program Files SolidWorks2007 data templates 14 Adding subfolders to either of the locations listed in File Location
8. of the corners is coincident to the part origin The small square icon near the origin shows the symbol for a coincident sketch relation These sketch relations are persis tent through changes and enable you to dynamically move sketch elements with the cursor on the screen The setting to enable or disable displaying the sketch relation symbols is found at View Sketch Relations A sketch of four lines A If you drag any of the unconstrained corners except for the corner that is coincident to the origin the two neighboring lines will follow the dragged endpoint as shown in Figure 1 20 Notice the ghosted image left by the original position of the sketch This is helpful when experimenting with changes to the sketch because you can see both the new and the old states of the sketch The setting to enable or disable this ghosted position is found at Tools Options Sketch Ghost Image on Drag Dragging an endpoint If you add a parallel relation between opposing lines they now act differently as shown in Figure 1 21 You add a parallel relation by selecting the two lines to make parallel and selecting Parallel from the PropertyManager panel You can also select the Parallel relation from the context bar that pops up in the graphics window when you have both lines selected 22 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Cross Reference You can read more about the PropertyManager in Chapter 2 m Dragging an endpoint where
9. realistic way possible without actually having it in your hand This is more akin to making a physical model in the shop than drawing on paper 16 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Feature based modeling means that you build the model by creating 2D sketches and applying pro cesses features to create the 3D shape For example you can create a simple box by using the Extrude process and you can create a sphere using the Revolve process However you can make a cylinder using either process by revolving a rectangle or extruding a circle You start by visualizing the 3D shape and then apply a 3D process to a 2D sketch to create that shape This concept on its own is half of what you need to know to create models with SolidWorks Figure 1 15 shows images of simple feature types along with the 2D sketches from which they were created Simple extruded and revolved features Ze 9 9 KO eal Many different feature types in SolidWorks enable you to create everything from the simplest geome try shown in Figure 1 15 to more complex artistic or organic shapes In general when I talk about modeling in this book I am talking about solid modeling although SolidWorks also has a complete complement of surfacing tools I discuss the distinction between solid and surface modeling in Chapter 20 Cross Reference To learn more about surfacing in SolidWorks refer to the SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bibl
10. referring to the colors defined earlier Selecting display delete relations The Display Delete Relations tool enables you to list sort delete and repair sketch relations You can find the Display Delete Relations tool on the Sketch toolbar The sketch status colors defined earlier also apply here with the relations appearing in the appropriate color Relations are not shown in blue or black only the colors that show errors such as red yellow and brown This tool also enables you to group relations by several categories Allin This Sketch Dangling Overdefining Not Solved External Defined in Context Locked Broken Selected Entities In the lower Entities panel of the Display Delete Relations PropertyManager shown in Figure 1 26 you can also replace one entity with another or repair dangling relations Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks EOSS ccc The Display Delete Relations PropertyManager enables you to repair broken relations All in this sketch M L Horizontai Horizontal Verticald Vertical2 0 Satisfied T Suppressed Delete Delete Ail Entities A Entity Status Defined LineS Fully De Same M Line2 Fully De Current Entity Edge of Chapter 1 F Owner Assembly Cross Reference You can read more about repairing dangling entities in Chapter 12 m Using suppressed sketch relations Suppressing a sketch relation means that the relation is turned of
11. 7in_ 0309in_ Oin Under Defined _ Editing Sketch 2 Deactivate the circle by clicking its toolbar icon or pressing the Esc key on the key board Now click and hold the cursor on the circle then drag it to change the size of the cir cle The center of the circle is locked to the Origin as the Coincident icon near the Origin appears The radius is undefined so it can be dragged by the cursor If the centerpoint were not defined the location of the center of the circle could also be dragged 31 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics 32 lt a 10 12 Activate the 3 pt Corner Rectangle To find it through a menu choose Tools Sketch Entities gt 3pt Corner Rectangle Click the first point inside the circle click the second point outside the circle and click the third point such that one end of the rectangle is completely inside the circle Use Figure 1 30 as a reference Avoid making any two points vertical or horizontal from one another You will learn in Chapter 3 about how to control automatic relations in more detail Sketching a three point rectangle G SolidWorks Fie Edt yew inset Tock Window hp O e 8 2 O x 8 Bo 2 fe oa S gt 8X 17 lo OSD Parti Default lt lt Default gt _ z Sree a Rectangle 2 a ce x ae Rochapiedypte b 2 ga l T F E ga SIRE Cia E n ae be Ss ta oe X 4 i y 4 j rea 4 p v D s 3 s K Qo
12. Introducing SolidWorks features such as extrude revolve fillets cuts and holes among others n SolidWorks you build 3D parts from a series of simple 2D sketches and You can then create 2D drawings from the 3D parts and assemblies This chapter will familiarize you with some of the tools available to make the transition to SolidWorks and with some of the basic facts and concepts that you need to know to get the most out of the software If you want to start using the software without learning about how or why it works you can skip directly to Chapter 3 for sketches or Chapter 4 to start making simple parts assemblies and drawings Of course I recommend you get a bit of background and some foundation first Installing SolidWorks for the First Time Some of you will have SolidWorks installed for you by people in your com pany or by SolidWorks reseller experts and some of you will do the installa tion on your own Regardless it is best to make sure that your hardware and software are compatible with the SolidWorks system requirements avail able on the SolidWorks Web site at www solidworks com sw support SystemRequirements html SolidWorks installs natively on both 32 and 64 bit operating systems It is only supported for Windows XP Vista and Windows 7 In all cases the pro fessional level OS is recommended Although it is possible to install and run SolidWorks under Parallels and Boot Camp on Apple hardware that conf
13. agement Associated files stay connected by filenames If a document name is changed and one of the associated files is not updated appropri ately the association between the files can become broken For this reason you should use SolidWorks Explorer to change names of associated files Other techniques will work but there are some techniques you should avoid Best Practice It is considered poor practice to change filenames locations or the name of a folder in the path of documents that are referenced by other documents with Windows Explorer Links between parts assemblies and drawings can be broken in this way Using SolidWorks Explorer or a PDM application is the preferred method for changing filenames m On the DVD Refer to the DVD to find video tutorials for Finding Help Parametric Sketching and Working with Templates 28 Tutorial Creating a Part Template This simple tutorial steps you through making a few standard part templates for use with inch and millimeter parts as well as making some templates for a couple of materials 1 Choose Tools Options System Options File Locations and then select Document Templates from the Show folder for list 2 Click the Add button to add a new path to a location outside of the SolidWorks instal lation directory where you have copied the templates from the DVD with this book for example D Library Templates Click OK to dismiss the dialog box and accept the settings
14. alue thickness entered into the template Once you ve done it every part made from this template that uses an Extrude feature will have an option box for Link to Thickness which enables you to establish a thickness variable automatically for each part you create This is typically a sheet metal part feature but you can use it in all types of parts m 29 Choose File Save As and then select Part Template from the drop down list Ensure it is going into your template folder by giving it an appropriate name reflecting the inch units and 1060 material and then click Save 30 Edit the material applied to change it from 1060 Alloy to Plain Carbon Steel and save it as another template with a different name 31 Change the primary units to millimeters with two places and save as a third template file 32 Exit the file Tutorial Using Parametrics in Sketches What separates parametric CAD tools from simple 2D drawing programs is the intelligence that you can build in to a parametric sketch In this tutorial you learn some of the power that parametrics can provide in both structured using actual dimensions and unstructured just dragging the geometry with the mouse changes 1 Open anew SolidWorks document by clicking the New toolbar button or by choosing File gt New 2 From the list of templates select a new part template either inch or millimeter 30 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Press the Spacebar on the key
15. art I Introducing SolidWorks Basics There are two Default Template options Always use these default document templates and Prompt user to select document template The Default Template options apply to situations when a template is required by an automatic feature in the software such as an imported part or a mirrored part In this situation depending on the option selected the system automatically uses the default template or the user is prompted to select a template Performance Allowing the software to apply the default template automatically can have a great impact on speed This is espe cially true in the case of imported assemblies which would require you to select templates manually for each imported part in the assembly if the Prompt user to select document template option is selected m Sharing templates If you are administering an installation of a large number of users or even if there are just a couple of users working on similar designs shared templates are necessary If every user does what she thinks best you may get an interesting combination of conflicting ideas and the consistency of the compa ny s documentation may suffer Standardized templates cannot make users model assemble and detail in exactly the same way but they do start off users on the same foot To share templates among several users create a folder for templates on a commonly accessible net work location preferably with read only access for users
16. board to open the View Orientation dialog box and double click the Front view Right click the Front plane in the FeatureManager or whatever the first plane listed is and select Sketch Click the View menu and make sure the Sketch Relations item is depressed This shows small icons on the screen to indicate when parametric relations are created between sketch entities Click the Circle from the Sketch toolbar choose Tools Sketch Entities Circle Sketch a circle centered on the Origin With the Circle tool activated click the cursor at the Origin in the graphics area The Origin is the asterisk at the intersection of the long verti cal red arrow and the short horizontal red arrow After clicking the first point which repre sents the center of the circle move the cursor away from the Origin and click again which will establish the radius of the circle You can also click and drag between the circle center and the radius if you prefer Figure 1 29 shows the result Sketching a circle BA SolidWorks File Edt View Insert Tools Window Heb gt Partl Default lt lt Default gt _Disg 6 A Annotations mizy Lights Cameras and Scene Solid Bodies Surface Bodies H E Equations 5 Sensors 3 Material lt not specified gt X Front XY amp Top XZ X Right YZ I Origin FE Sketch a i gt le Raa Ie JEDES SolidWorks Premium 20103t_1 32
17. ctangle or a line of the rectangle Try drag ging the centerline and the free endpoint of the centerline Notice that the result of moving each different sketch entity is different from any of the others 2 14 Click the Smart Dimension tool in the Sketch toolbar or choose Tools Dimensions gt Smart Click the outside end line of the rectangle and move the cursor away from the line You can align the dimension one of three ways measuring the horizontal dimension of the 33 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics 34 15 16 17 18 19 line the vertical dimension or the dimension aligned with the angle of the line When the dimension is aligned with the angle as shown in Figure 1 33 click the RMB This locks in that orientation and enables you to select a location for the dimension without affecting its orientation Click to place the dimension If the dimension does not automatically give you the opportunity to change the dimension double click the dimension and change it to 0 5 inch or 12 mm If this is larger than the diameter of the circle notice that the circle changes to accommodate the new width FIGURE 133 ccc Placing a dimension on an angled line Drag the endpoint of the centerline around the center of the circle to see how the sketch reacts Notice that the dimension added to the rectangle keeps it a constant width and makes it react more predictably Put a dimension on the circle Cl
18. ding to certain rules and maintain relationships through those changes This is the basis of parametric design It extends beyond sketching to all the types of geometry you can create in SolidWorks Creating sketches and features with intelligence is the basis of the concept of Design Intent which I cover in more detail later in this chapter In addition to 2D sketching SolidWorks also makes 3D sketching possible Of the two methods 2D sketches are by far more widely used You create 2D sketches on a selected plane planar solid or sur face face and then use them to establish shapes for features such as Extrude Revolve and others Relations in 2D sketches are often created between sketch entities and other model edges that may or may not be in the sketch plane In situations where other entities are not in the sketch plane the out of plane entity is projected into the sketch plane in a direction that is normal to the sketch plane This does not happen for 3D sketches 21 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics You can use 3D sketches for the Hole Wizard routing weldments and complex shape creation among other applications Cross Reference For more information on 3D sketching please refer to Chapter 6 m For a simple example of working with sketch relations in a 2D sketch consider the sketch shown in Figure 1 19 The only relationships between the four lines are that they form a closed loop that is touching end to end and one
19. e Wiley 2008 for a complete surfacing reference m Table 1 2 lists some of the most common features that you find in SolidWorks and classifies them according to whether they always require a sketch a sketch is optional or they never require a sketch 17 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics ME Feature Types Sketch Required Sketch Optional No Sketch Applied Features Extrude Loft Fillet Revolve Sweep Chamfer Rib Dome Draft Hole Wizard Boundary Shell Wrap Deform Flex In addition to these features other types of features create reference geometry such as curves planes axes surface features Chapter 20 specialty features for techniques like sheet metal Chapter 21 plastics mold tools Chapter 24 Understanding History Based Modeling In addition to being feature based SolidWorks is also history based To show the process history there is a panel to the left side of the SolidWorks window called the FeatureManager The FeatureManager keeps a list of the features in the order in which you have added them It also enables you to reorder items in the tree in effect to change history Because of this the order in which you perform operations is important For example consider Figure 1 16 This model was cre ated by the following process left to right starting with the top row 1 Create a sketch Extrude the sketch Create a second sketch Extrude the second sketch Create a third sketch Extrude Cut the t
20. e if the fillets are applied after the shell they might break through to the inside of the part In these cases SolidWorks gives an error that helps you to fix the problem In 2D CAD programs where you are just drawing lines the order in which you draw the lines does not matter This is one of the fundamental differences between history based modeling and drawing Features are really just like steps in building a part the steps can either add material or remove it However when you make a part on a mill or lathe you are only removing material Some people choose to model following manufacturing methods so they start from a piece of stock and apply fea tures that remove material This approach works best for machining but doesn t work well for mold ing casting sheet metal or progressive dies The FeatureManager is like an instruction sheet to build the part When you reorder and revise history you change the order of operations and thus the final result Sketching with Parametrics Sketching is the foundation that underlies the most common feature types You will find that sketch ing in parametric software is vastly different from drawing lines in 2D CAD Dictionary com defines the word parameter as one of a set of measurable factors that define a sys tem and determine its behavior and that are varied in an experiment SolidWorks sketches are parametric What this means is that you can create sketches that change accor
21. es Summary Information Summary Custom Configuration Specitic BOM X Edit Uist tvaluated Value 1060 Alloy 100 Matt Value Text Expression SW Material Part SLOPRT You desciption 0 000 vert SLOPRT Click OK to close the Summary Information window Change the names of the standard planes by clicking them twice slowly or clicking once and pressing F2 Rename them Front Top and Side respectively Ctrl select the three planes from the FeatureManager click the RMB and select Show the eyeglasses icon From the View menu make sure that Planes is selected Click the RMB on the Front plane and select Sketch Select the Line tool and click and drag anywhere to draw a line Select the Smart Dimension tool and click the line then click in the space in the Graphics Window to place the dimension If you are prompted for a dimension value press 1 and click the check mark as shown in Figure 1 28 29 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics ESES ccc Drawing a line and applying a dimension 26 Press Esc to exit the Dimension tool and click the RMB on the displayed dimension and select Link Value 27 Type thickness in the Name box and click OK 28 Press Ctrl B rebuild to exit the sketch select the sketch from the FeatureManager and press Delete on the keyboard Note You do the exercise of creating the sketch and deleting it only to get the link v
22. f and not used to compute the posi tion of sketch entities Suppressed relations are generally used in conjunction with configurations Cross Reference Configurations are discussed in detail in Chapter 11 m Working with Associativity In SolidWorks associativity refers to links between documents such as a part that has an associative link to a drawing If the part changes the drawing updates as well Bidirectional associativity means that the part can be changed from the part or the drawing document window One of the implications 27 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics of this is that you do not edit a SolidWorks drawing by simply moving lines on the drawing you must change the model which causes all drawing views of the part or assembly to update correctly Other associative links include using inserted parts also called base or derived parts where one part is inserted as the first feature in another part This might be the case when you build a casting If the part is designed in its as cast state it is then inserted into another part where machining operations are performed by cut features and the part is transformed into its as machined state This technique is also used for plastic parts where a single shape spans multiple plastic pieces A master part is cre ated and split into multiple parts An example would be a mouse cover and buttons One of the most important aspects of associativity is file man
23. hird sketch Apply fillets Shell the model Se ie els came eee 18 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks MG Features used to create a simple part 2 500 4 000 1 200 a L If the order of operations used in the previous part were slightly reordered by putting the shell and fillet features before Step 6 the resulting part would also look slightly different as shown in Figure 1 17 19 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics FicuRe 17 ccc Using a different order of features for the same part Figure 1 18 shows a comparison of the FeatureManager design trees for the two different feature orders You can reorder features by dragging them up or down the tree Relationships between fea tures can prevent reordering for example the fillets are dependent on the second extruded feature and cannot be reordered before it This is referred to as a Parent Child relationship Cross Reference Reordering and Parent Child relationships are discussed in more detail in Chapter 12 m EO ccc Compare the FeatureManager design trees for the parts shown in Figure 1 16 and Figure 1 17 SE gt Seele 2 T y T E Ychapter 1 Features Defautt lt MMMMAX Y Chapter Features Default lt LA Annotations LA Annotations Sensors Sensors LEJ Equations LE Equations 3 Material lt not specified gt _ 3 Material lt not specified gt amp Front XY amp Front XY XQ Top XZ X Top XZ XQ Right YZ XS Rig
24. his version of SolidWorks Show me Interactive What s New help Do not show me any dynamic help Work flow customization You can customize default visibilty of toolbars and menus by your area of expertise Select any all or none of the following categories C Consumer product design Machine design C Mold design Note You can change these options at any time in the Solidworks appbcation Using Quick Tips The Quick Tips setting enables balloons with tips to help you get started with several tasks For exam ple the first Quick Tip you see may be the one shown in Figure 1 3 When you begin to create your first document in SolidWorks a Quick Tip helps guide you on your way EISE O The SolidWorks Document Quick Tip New users typically start by creating a part document Select Part and click OK orks Document a 30 representation of a single design component As you continue working Quick Tips displays a box shown in Figure 1 4 at the lower right corner of the Graphics Window that offers context sensitive help messages As you work with the software these messages change to remain relevant to what you are doing You can turn Quick Tips on or off by clicking the small square on the Status Bar in the lower right cor ner as shown in Figure 1 5 You can turn the Status Bar on or off in the View menu however the Status Bar serves many useful purposes for all users s
25. ht YZ j L Origin inky Origin TR Boss Extrudel Boss Extrudel Sketchi E Sketchi R Boss Extrude2 G R Boss Extrude2 Sketch2 E Sketch2 S E Cut Extrudet Fillett EE Sketch3 G Fillet2 Fillet M shen i A Fillet2 5 Cut Extrudel Fillet3 EZ Sketch3 Shell Fillet3 On the DVD The part used for this example is available in the material on the DVD named Chapter 1 Features SLDPRT m The order of operations or history is important to the final state of the part For example if you change the order so that the shell comes before the extruded cut the geometry of the model changes 20 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks removing the sleeve inside instead of the hole on top You can try this for yourself by opening the part indicated previously dragging the Shell1 feature in the FeatureManager and dropping it just above the Cut Extrude1 feature Note You can only drag one item at a time in the FeatureManager Therefore you may drag the shell and then drag each of two fillets or you could just drag the cut feature down the tree Alternatively you can put the shell and fillets in a folder and drag the folder to a new location Reordering is limited by parent child relationships between dependent features m Cross Reference You can read more about reordering folders in Chapter 12 m In some cases reordering the features in the FeatureManager may result in geometry that might not make any sense for exampl
26. ick the circumference of the circle with the Smart Dimension tool and then place the dimension anywhere on the screen without click ing any other geometry Notice that diameter values of less than the dimension created in Step 14 cause errors This makes geometrical sense Change the diameter value to 1 inch or 25 mm Drag the endpoint of the centerline again Notice that as you define more sizes and rela tionships between sketch entities the motion of the sketch as you drag becomes more con strained and predictable Activate the Smart Dimension tool again Click the Top plane from the FeatureManager and then click the centerline This creates an angle dimension Position the angle dimension and change its value to 60 degrees as shown in Figure 1 34 Double click any dimension and use either the up and down arrows to the right of it or the scroll wheel below it to change the value as shown in Figure 1 35 Notice that not all values of all dimensions produce valid results Also notice that the entire sketch is black except for the outer end of the rectangle which is now blue This is the only thing you can now drag Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks FIGURE 1 34 ccc Creating an angle dimension Summary While product development is about design it is even more about change You design something once but you may modify it endlessly or it may seem that way sometimes Similarly SolidWorks is about des
27. ign but it really enables change Think of SolidWorks as virtual prototyping software that enables you to change your prototype rather than having to make a new one Virtual prototypes will never completely replace physical models but they may reduce your dependence on them to some extent SolidWorks is also about reusing data Associativity enables you to model a part once and use it for Finite Element Analysis FEA creating 2D drawings building assemblies creating photorealistic ren derings and so on When you make changes to the model your drawing is automatically updated and you don t have to reapply FEA materials and conditions or redo the rendering setup Associativity saves you time by reusing your data Associativity and change driven by feature based and history based modeling can take some getting used to if you have had limited exposure to it but with some practice it becomes intuitive and you will see the many benefits for enabling change Parametric sketching and feature creation help you to maintain Design Intent as well as adjust it as necessary 35
28. igu ration is not supported or tested by SolidWorks Corporation or its resellers You can find video card requirements at the above link for system require ments The main concern with a video card for SolidWorks is that it be CHAPTER IN THIS CHAPTER Installing SolidWorks Getting started with SolidWorks Identifying different types of SolidWorks documents Getting familiar with feature based modeling Looking at history based modeling Creating changeable sketches Controlling changes with Design Intent Modifying Design Intent Working with links between documents Creating a template part tutorial Using parametrics in sketches tutorial Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics compatible with OpenGL Hardware changes too rapidly for me to give specific recommendations here but generally nVidia brand boards in the Quadro line are acceptable as are AMD ATI brand boards in the FirePro line You should expect to pay 100 to 500 for a serviceable low to mid range video card Cards that are marketed as game cards such as the Radeon or GeForce have known limi tations and do not work well with SolidWorks In addition to installing the correct hardware you also need to have a compatible driver version installed Again refer to the SolidWorks system requirements Web site Whether you are installing SolidWorks or someone else is installing it for you you should consider purchasing a copy of the SolidWo
29. lines have relations Oya Next add a second parallel and a horizontal relation as shown in Figure 1 22 If you are following along by re creating the sketch on your computer you will notice that one line has turned from blue to black Horizontal and parallel relations are added 32 The line colors represent sketch states It may be impossible to see this in the black and white print ing of this book but if you are following along on your own computer you can now see one black line and three blue lines Sketch states include Underdefined Overdefined Fully Defined Unsolvable Zero Length and Dangling and are described as follows Blue Underdefined The sketch entity is not completely defined You can drag a portion of it to change size position or orientation e Black Fully Defined The sketch entity is fully defined by a combination of sketch relations and dimensions A sketch cannot be fully defined without being connected in some way to something external to the sketch such as the part origin or an edge The exception to this rule is the use of the Fix constraint which although effective is not a recommended practice e Red Overdefined Not Solved When a sketch entity has two or more relations and one of them cannot be satisfied the unsatisfied will be red For example if a line has both Horizontal and Vertical relations and the line is actually vertical the Vertical relation will be yellow because it is
30. ng templates and formats are complex enough that I cover them in a separate chapter Chapter 14 discusses the differences between templates and formats and how to use them to your advantage This chapter addresses part and assembly templates m 12 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks ESA ccc The Novice and Advanced interfaces for the New SolidWorks Document dialog box New SolidWorks Document weg a 3D representation of a single design component Part P a 3D arrangement of parts and or other assembles Assembly Re 2D engineering drawing typically of a part or assembly Drawing Advanced OK Cancel Help New SolidWorks Document ax Templates Bolam Commscope Drawings Training Templates D part part mm Part sheetmetal thickness Assembly inch assembly metric Assembly Orawing Novice OK Help Depending on your needs it might be reasonable to have templates for metric and inch part and assembly templates for steel and aluminum and templates for sheet metal parts and for weldments if you design these types of parts If your firm has different customers with different requirements you might consider using separate templates for each customer Over time you will discover the types of templates you need because you will find yourself making the same changes repeatedly You should also note that in SolidWorks 2011 templates can also control document scenes A s
31. ng the prints or making the prints do not catch the difference or see that there is some discrepancy Figure 1 7 demonstrates the difference between the two projection types Make sure to get the option correct If someone else such as a computer specialist who is not familiar with mechanical drafting standards initially sets up SolidWorks on your computer you will want to verify that the default templates use the correct standards units and projection method Differences between First left and Third right angle projections Projections SUOPRT wag Projections SLOPRT g KEJ ell e EN em M pm T First angle projection Third angle projection Another setting affecting projections that you will want to check can be accessed by choosing Tools gt Options Display Selection Projection type for four view viewport This does not follow the dimensioning standard selected for the default templates or the country in which the software is installed Exploring SolidWorks documentation Several types of documentation are available to help SolidWorks learners along their path A great place to start is the SolidWorks Resources tab in the Task Pane on the right side of the screen This is the first tab in the list and has the Home icon The Getting Started option in the SolidWorks Resources tab is shown in Figure 1 8 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks ECTE ccc The Getting Started op
32. ngs More information on part and assembly templates can be found later in this chapter Drawing Templates are described in detail in Chapter 14 CORE e ccc The default template units selection Units and Dimension Standard tJ Select the initial settings For the default templates Units IPS inch pound second m Dimension standard ANSI v NOTE These settings can be changed for individual templates or documents in Tools Options Document Properties Cancel Help Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics One of the most common questions new users ask is how they can change the default so that new documents come up with a certain type of units every time Units in new documents are set within the templates To create a part with inch units use a template with inch units You can have as many templates as you want and can have a different template for each type of units you might use ISO International Organization for Standardization and ANSI American National Standards Institute standards use different methods of projecting views and these standards are controlled by templates ISO is typically a European standard and uses First Angle Projection while ANSI is an American standard and uses Third Angle Projection The standard projection used throughout this book is Third Angle The difference between Third and First angle projections can cause parts to be manufactured incor rectly if those readi
33. o I recommend you leave it active You can also turn Quick Tips off in the Help menu by deselecting Quick Tips The on off setting is document type sensitive so if you deselected Quick Tips off in part mode you will need to do it again for assemblies and drawings as well Quick Tips are a great way to get going or to get a little refresher if it has been a while since you last saw the software Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks ECIS ccc The main Quick Tip window What would you like to do Create a solid part S Create a 2D sketch R Create a sheet metal part How do close this window Ma Turning Quick Tips on or off Quick Tips Use this icon or click Help Quick Tips to open and close the Quick Tips window Editing Part x Creating a new document O To start a new SolidWorks document click the New icon in the title bar of the SolidWorks application With standard functions such as creating a new document SolidWorks works just like a Microsoft Office application and the icons even look the same The first time you create a document SolidWorks prompts you to select units for your default tem plates as shown in Figure 1 6 This is an important step although you can make changes later if needed SolidWorks stores most of the document specific settings in document templates which you can set up with different settings for each type of document parts assemblies and drawi
34. ocation CHANGE g Toolbox Hole Wizard Options CHANGE gf Toolbox installation location C SolidWarks Date 4 Toolbox installation method New Toolbox Estimated installation size 5 2 GB Estimated download size 7 0 GB Q Back Download and Install You should count on the installation requiring about 6GB of space on your hard drive depending on the options you select to install The locations of files on your computer will vary by SolidWorks ver sion by your operating system and by your own installation choices but the bulk of the files are placed into two separate folders the Program Files folder C Program Files SolidWorks Corp SolidWorks and the Toolbox Data folder C SolidWorks Data Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks SolidWorks 2011 also creates a folder in the My Documents folder called GaBi which appears to only have empty folders but you should not remove it Also in My Documents are two folders called SolidWorks Downloads and SolidWorks Visual Studio Tools for Applications Both of these should also remain where they are The SolidWorks Downloads folder is a good place to look for items that are downloaded automatically from the Background Downloader or the SWIM When installing any software it is best practice to exit out of all other software first turn off antivirus software make sure you have enough hard drive space and otherwise meet the system requirements outlined on the SolidWorks System Requi
35. ool about the origin and try dragging again as shown in Figure 1 24 you see that the only aspect that is not locked down is the length of the sides Notice also that when the angle dimension is added another line turns black Open degrees of freedom can be dragged Finally adding length dimensions for the unequal sides completes the definition of the sketch as shown in Figure 1 25 At this point all lines have turned black This state is called fully defined Between the dimensions and sketch relations there is enough information to re create this sketch exactly 24 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Best Practice It is considered best practice to fully define all sketches However there are times when this is not practical When you create freeform shapes generally by using splines these shapes cannot easily be fully defined and even if they are fully defined the extra dimensions are usually meaningless because it is impractical to dimension splines on manufacturing drawings m _FicvRe 125 ccc The fully defined sketch cannot be dragged and there are no degrees of freedom 2 000 x 32 Parametric relations within a sketch control how the sketch reacts to changes from dimensions or relations within the sketch or by some other factor from outside the sketch Other factors can also drive the sketch such as equations other model geometry that is external to the sketch and even geometry from another par
36. or what the interface looks like or where you might find the command Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics in the first place This SolidWorks Bible fills in the gaps in information about the standard version of the software Checking out the Tip of the Day The SolidWorks Tip of the Day is displayed at the bottom of the SolidWorks Resources tab in the Task Pane Cycling through a few of the tips or using them to quiz coworkers can be a useful skills building exercise Switching from hardcopy documentation Unfortunately hardcopy documentation has dwindled from all software companies Software suppli ers often claim that keeping up with the changes in print is too much work and inefficient This is the same reason that SolidWorks gives for changing from help files that are on your local computer to help files that are only available across the Internet Still many users prefer to have a physical book in their hands one they can spread out on the desk next to them earmark highlight and mark with Post its and take notes in as evidenced by you holding this book at this moment Electronic docu mentation certainly has its advantages but hardcopy also has its place Identifying SolidWorks Documents SolidWorks has three main data type files parts assemblies and drawings however there are addi tional supporting types that you may want to be familiar with if you are concerned with customiza tion and creating implementation standard
37. re templates Think of templates as start parts that contain all the document specific settings for a part Tools Options Document Properties The same concept applies to assemblies and drawings Templates generally do not have any geometry in them although it is possible The Novice interface for the New SolidWorks Document dialog box File New SolidWorks Document only enables you to select default templates The Advanced interface enables you to select any available template m As shown in Figure 1 9 several tabs can be displayed on the advanced interface Each of these tabs is created by creating a folder in the template directory specified in the Options dialog box Tool Options To remove any confusion I want to note that in Figure 1 9 the Advanced interface shows the button labeled Novice and the Novice interface shows the button labeled Advanced Having multiple document templates available Having multiple templates available gives you many options when starting a new document This offers an advantage in many situations including the following Standardization for a large number of users Working in various units Preset materials Preset custom properties Parts with special requirements such as sheet metal or weldments Parts and assemblies with standardized background colors Drawings of various sizes with formats borders already applied Drawings with special notes already on the sheet Cross Reference Drawi
38. rements Web page and reboot when the installation is complete You can also install without a DVD using downloaded data instead To do this you need a subscrip tion account for the Customer Portal area of the SolidWorks Web site at www solidworks com sw support Subscription Services html Trial installations network licenses student versions administrative images and other special cases may require that you contact your reseller for technical support Starting SolidWorks for the First Time SolidWorks has many tools for beginning users that are available when the software is installed A default installation presents you with several options when the software is started the first time Following is a description of these options and how you can most benefit from them If you plan to go to formal SolidWorks reseller based training classes it is a very good idea to go through some of the tutorials mentioned in this section first this way you are prepared to ask edu cated questions and have a leg up on the rest of the class You will get more out of the training with the instructor if you have seen the material once before Examining the SolidWorks license agreement It is useful to be familiar with what this document says but the agreement does not have any bearing on learning how to use the software other than the fact that it allows for a Home Use License Many users find this part of the license agreement helpful The primary
39. rks Administration Bible Wiley 2010 which contains all the infor mation you need on installing configuring and troubleshooting SolidWorks Alternatively you might not want to get that involved at first You can install the software with all defaults just to get started using it as a practice installation especially if you intend to learn as much as you can about it and then come back and do a more thorough job of implementing it later If this is the case just put the DVD in the drive and accept all the defaults In the Summary page shown in Figure 1 1 you can choose to change the disk installation location and choose which products are installed Changing installation settings on the Summary install page Sigh SolidWorks 2011 Installation Manager X64 Edition Welcome Summary This is a new installation of 2012 Serial Number System Check Products Summary SolidWorks Featureworks PhatoView 359 SolidWorks Toolbox SolidWorks Routing Solidworks Utilities ScanTo3O 3D Instant Website TolAnalyst CircuitWarks Design Checker Example Files Download Manuals Help Files SolidWorks eDrawings E Install SolidWorks Explorer Workgroup PDM SolidWorks Explorer SolidWorks Workgroup PDM Add n SolidWorks Workgroup POM Client Add in SolidWorks Workgroup POM x64 Chent Adin 3 Finish SolidWorks Simulation SolidWorks Motion n i Enolish Download Options CHANGE gf Installation L
40. rominent aspects of design in general is change I have often heard it said that you may design something once but you will change it a dozen times This concept carries over into solid modeling work Design Intent is sometimes thought of as a static concept that controls changing geometry However this is not always the way things are Design Intent itself often changes thus requiring the way in which the model reacts to geometric changes to also change Fortunately SolidWorks has many tools to help you deal with situations like this Choosing sketch relations Seeing the sketch relation symbols is the best tool for visualizing Design Intent You can show or hide icons that represent the relations by choosing View Sketch Relations When shown these relations appear as an icon in a small colored box in the graphics area next to the sketch entity Clicking the icon highlights the sketch elements involved in that relation Refer to Figures 1 19 through 1 25 for examples of these relations The View Sketch Relations option is an excellent candidate for use with a hotkey thus enabling you to easily toggle it on and off m Cross Reference For more information on creating and managing hotkeys see Chapter 2 m 26 You can use the sketch relation icons on the screen to delete relations by selecting the icon in the graphics area and pressing Delete on the keyboard You can also use them to quickly determine the status of sketch relations by
41. s Table 1 1 outlines the document types TAS E O Document Types Design Documents Description sldasm SolidWorks assembly file type slddrw SolidWorks drawing file type sldprt SolidWorks part file type Templates and Formats Description asmdot Assembly template asmprp Assembly custom properties tab template drwdot Drawing template drwprp Drawing custom properties tab template journal doc Design journal template prtdot Part template prtprp Part custom properties tab template 10 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks Templates and Formats sldbombt sldtbt slddrt sldholtbt sldrevtbt sldwldtbt xls Library Files sldblk sldlfp Styles sldgtolfvt sldsffvt sldweldfvt Symbol Files gtol sym swlines lin Others btl calloutformat txt sldclr sldreg sldmat sldstd swb swp txt xis Saving your setup Description BOM template table based General table template Drawing sheet format Hole table template Revision table template Weldment cutlist template BOM template Excel based Description Blocks Library part file Description Geometric tolerance style Surface finish style Weld style Description A symbol file that enables you to create custom symbols A line style definition file that enables you to create new line styles Description Sheet metal bend table Hole callout format file Color palette file SolidWorks settings file Material database
42. s results in additional tabs in the New SolidWorks Document dialog box as shown in Figures 1 12 and 1 13 Chapter 1 Introducing SolidWorks The New SolidWorks Document dialog box New SolidWorks Document Templates Custom Templates B Assembly Drawing Additional subfolders added to a File Locations path L Custom Templates c Drawings O Formatted Drawings Training Templates Wiley EOE ccc The tabs associated with the subfolders in New SolidWorks Document dialog box New SolidWorks Document Templates Drawings Formatted Drawings Training Templates Wiley cg e Part Assembly Drawing Custom Templates ana Preview Using default templates Default templates are established at Tools Options Default Templates The default templates must be in one of the paths specified in File Locations Figure 1 14 shows the Default Templates settings The Tools Options Default Templates settings The vil be used For operations such as File Import and Mirror Part where Solidwo orks does mot prompt for a template templates Parts D tbrary Custom Templates part inch prtdot m Assemblies D tbrary Custom Templates Assembly inch asmdot m 7 Drawings D lbrary Custom Templates Orawings inch B drwdot acai Always use these defauk document templates ompt user to select document template 15 P
43. t in an assembly as you shall see later Understanding Design Intent Design Intent is a phrase that you will hear often among SolidWorks users I like to think of it as design for change Design Intent means that when you put the parametric sketch relations together with the feature intelligence you can build models that react to change in predictable ways This gives you a great deal of control over changes An example of Design Intent could be a statement that describes general aspects that help define the design of a part such as This part is symmetrical with holes that line up with Part A and thick enough to be flush with Part B From this description and the surrounding parts it is possible to re create the part in such a way that if Part A or Part B changes the part being described updates to match Some types of changes can cause features to fail or sketch relations to conflict In most situations SolidWorks has ample tools for troubleshooting and editing that you can use to repair or change the model In these situations it is often the Design Intent itself that is changing Best Practice When editing or repairing relations it is considered best practice to edit rather than delete Deleting often causes additional problems farther down the tree Many users find it tempting to delete anything that has an error on it m 25 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics Tip Editing Design Intent One of the most p
44. tion on the SolidWorks Resources tab of the Task Manager SolidWorks Resources 4 Getting Started af D New Document B Open a Document Making My First Part Making My First Drawing Onine Tutorials The terminology SolidWorks has used over the past several releases has changed and may seem confusing to some of you In 2007 SolidWorks changed the name Online User s Guide to SolidWorks Help This is a help file on the local computer it is not online in that it is not on the Internet In 2010 the SolidWorks Web Help option was added to the Help menu This option is online in that it is on the Internet Accessing tutorials You can access several tutorials by selecting the SolidWorks Tutorials option from the Help menu There you will find a list of tutorials on subjects from sheet metal to macros in parts assemblies and drawings These tutorials are certainly worth your time and will build your skills and knowledge of basic functionality This SolidWorks Bible distinguishes itself from the tutorials by going into far more detail and depth about each function adding information such as best practices performance consid erations and cautionary data acting as a thorough desk reference The purpose of this book is not to duplicate all the resources for beginners but to take the information into far more depth and detail and answer the why questions instead of just the how questions Keeping up with what
45. user of the license at work is also allowed to use the license at home or on a portable computer This is often a good option for learning techniques doing additional practice or completing the design of that deck or soapbox derby car If your employer uses floating licenses the rules are somewhat different Contact your reseller for details Viewing the Welcome to SolidWorks screen The Welcome to SolidWorks screen shown in Figure 1 2 is the next thing to greet you This helps you establish what type of tools you would like to see in the interface and gives you some help options You may not get the chance to see this dialog box if someone else such as an IT person has installed and done an initial test on your software for you If you make a choice that you would like to change later the options presented in this dialog box are also available elsewhere Although you will not see this dialog box again the interface is highly cus tomizable and options exist for most things you might want to change Chapter 2 covers interface cus tomization in more detail Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics EISE ccc The Welcome to SolidWorks screen Welcome to SolidWorks td Welcome to Soidv orks This is the first time you have run Solidworks on this machine We would ike to give you an opportunity to customize your Solidworks installation Help customization ama new user Show Quick Tips to help me get started O I am new to t
46. ystem option controls whether the document scene or a system background color option is the default The default setting for this gives the document scene precedence over the system background color set tings See Chapter 5 for more details on scenes and background colors 13 Part I Introducing SolidWorks Basics To create a template open a document of the appropriate type part or assembly and make the set tings you want the template to have for example units are one of the most common reasons to make a separate template though any Document Property setting is fair game for a template from the dimensioning standard used to the image quality settings You can find these settings through the menus at Tools Options Document Properties Some document specific settings do not appear in the Document Properties dialog box Still these settings are saved with the template Settings that fall into this category are the View menu entity type visibility option and the Tools Sketch Settings menu options Custom Properties are another piece of the template puzzle If you use or plan to use BOMs Bills of Materials PDM Product Data Management or linked notes on drawings you need to take advan tage of the automation options available with custom properties Setting up custom properties is cov ered in detail in Chapter 14 In addition the names of the standard planes are template specific For example the standard planes may be
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